Former Lakers Star’s Fondest Memory of Kobe Bryant Includes Broken Thumb and Mamba’s Ruthlessness: “He Was Hitting My Hand”

Kobe Bryant won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, but it wasn’t without effort or even sacrifice. Known for his high drive and work ethic, Bryant also pushed his teammates to the brink to bring out the best in them, be it through motivation or just tough love. One of his former teammates recently narrated an incident where Bryant broke his thumb while practicing with him.

Nick Young, who spent four years with the Los Angeles Lakers, played alongside Kobe Bryant. He sat down with one of his former teammates from the Washington Wizards, Gilbert Arenas, on the latter’s show. When asked about his favorite ‘Kobe memory’, Young recalled the fateful training session.

When Kobe Bryant broke Nick Young’s thumb

The two former NBA players on the show shared and exchanged their favorite Kobe Bryant moments from their time in the league. That is when Nick Young shared his anecdote which came from of the team’s practice-times.

Young began his response, “I got a lot man. Like between him and Gil, I don’t know which one was crazier. Kobe broke my thumb and didn’t think he broke it and told me to still practice. And in practice, he was hitting my hand and throwing the ball hard.”

“And I would tell him like chill man, it is really broke, listen to the people. He’s like, nah you ain’t hurt. You trying to get out of practice. It was crazy. Then later on that day, I ended up going to get an MRI. And they end up telling Kobe, yeah he tore a ligament in his thumb,” continued Young.

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However, Bryant followed this with a considerate gesture for his teammate. Young explained, “So Kobe was the first person to call me and you know, apologize, trying to take care of me. Throw some money my way.”

As such, Kobe Bryant was known to be one of the sweetest persons off-court. His ‘stone-cold’ and ruthless demeanor while at work was definitely aimed at helping his team reach the peaks that it became famous for during his time as a Laker.

The ‘Black Mamba’ demeanor

Bryant did not take any excuses from his teammates or himself when it came to basketball. He was not only a vocal leader but also tried to lead by example. ‘The Black Mamba’ was always the first one to hit the training facility and the last to go home. He held his teammates to the same standard.

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Another former teammate of Bryant, Jeremy Lin, once shared his own Kobe Bryant story. Lin recounted how Bryant came into the locker room a day before the trade deadline and called his teammates ‘bums’ for being slated to be traded the next day.

Goes to show just how ‘team-player’ Bryant was – a different animal altogether.